Next-Gen Nike Magista Obra II 2016-17 Boots Released

What might happen if the foot had evolved as if it were designed to play football? The next-gen Nike Magista Obra II football boots were introduced today with an extremely bold and flamboyant look, designed to be like an organic extension of the foot. The yellow Nike Magista Obra 2 cleats will be worn at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

"After reading research around evolution and morphology," explains Nike football designer Phil Woodman, "I was interested in the hypothesis that pruning hands were an evolutionary development for maintaining grip on wet surfaces and tools. That got me thinking about how the foot might have adapted had its primary purpose been football."

The likes of Mario Götze, Blaise Matuidi and David Luiz headline the second-gen Nike Magista Obra football boots. For those who prefer a traditionally shaped sockliner, Nike also unveiled a next-gen Nike Magista Opus boot, which will be represented on-field by players such as Sergio Busquets and Andrés Iniesta.

Nike Magista Obra II - Volt / Total Orange / Pink Blast / Black

This is the launch colorway of the next-generation Nike Magista Obra 2016-2017 football boots.

Predominantly drenched in Volt, the insane first paint job of the Nike Magista Obra II boots features a bold, black Swoosh on the outside. The most eye-catching features of the first-ever Nike Magista Obra 2 soccer cleats is however the flamboyant gradient design that dominates the cleats at the front with Total Orange and Pink Blast. Last but not least, the Dynamic Fit collar, shaped slightly different than on its predecessor, is colored in turquoise and finished off with a soft gradient.

The concept of the second-generation Nike Magista Obra football boots remains the one of the first generation. Made for the creative midfielder, the next-gen Nike Magista Obra cleats are engineered for unrivaled comfort, ball touch and agility.

Once again, the new Nike Magista Obra 2 soccer boots combine a heightened collar with a knitted Flyknit upper for a sock-like fit. The new Nike Magista Obra II cleats also include a thin layer of NikeSkin with ACC (All Conditions Control) technology on top of the knitted structure to optimize performance under all conditions.

Nike designer Woodman worked with the Nike Sports Research Lab to define which parts of the foot are most sensitive to touch and mapped those against high-touch zones gleaned from slow-motion film study of ball control. The data collected in this research was visually applied to a foot model in the form of a heat map, revealing significant overlap in areas of high sensation, effectiveness and engagement.

Equipped with this information, Woodman began 3D printing test uppers featuring peaks and troughs of varying dimensions. This was a marked transition from the upper of the original Magista, which was uniform throughout. "We envisioned the upper of the Magista 2 performing as an organic extension of the foot," continues Woodman. "The texture is podular and cushioned, designed to communicate with a player's sense of touch when the ball comes in contact with it."

But the most remarkable element of the next-gen Nike Magista Obra 2016-2017 boots is the one-of-a-kind upper structure. While the first generation of the Nike Magista Obra cleats featured a clearly structured upper that resembled the look of honeycombs, the Nike Magista Obra 2 football boots come with a newly developed 'Ball Texture' that features a less distinctive but more grossly design. It is visually highlighted through a heatmap-like gradient print. The Nike Magista Obra II boot also introduces Flywire-like strings to the agility silo in order to improve lockdown.

The next-gen Nike Magista Obra Boot comes without an external heel counter but with an all-new 'Protective Supernatural Framework' midsole in the inner area, made for more stability and protection. Additionally, the Nike Magista Obra 2016-2017 football boots also feature a totally new sole plate design. Whereas the first generation of the boot solely featured conical studs for rotational agility, the second-gen Nike Magista Obra 2 cleats come with a mixture of four bladed studs, aligned circularly, and ten rounded studs (the new sole plate is also much lighter - 60g as opposed to 85g).

The spectacular Nike Magista Obra II soccer cleats retail at $300, a $25 increase over the first generation. They will be available from July 24 via the Nike Football App.

What are your thoughts on the possibly boldest ever Nike Magista boot? Let us know in the comments below.